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Maximize Engagement with These 9 YouTube Thumbnail Creators for 2024
Maximize Engagement with These 9 YouTube Thumbnail Creators
Top 12 Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers - Filmora
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Video thumbnails are vital to get your videos more views. Many successful YouTubers make nice thumbnails which help them get lots of views and thus tons of subscribers.
If you are searching for software tools that can assist in the creation of YouTube video thumbnails, then you are on the right page because the details available below will provide you with complete information about the top 10+ highly rated YouTube Thumbnail Makers on both desktop and mobile devices. Some of them are free to create YouTube thumbnails; others may need to pay to get more advanced features. Besides, I’ll also show you how to create a thumbnail in the Filmora video editor in detail.
- Part 1: Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Online Users
- Part 2: How to Make Video Thumbnail with Wondershare Filmora [Creative Ways]
- Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
Before we get started, it is highly recommended to watch this video, teaching you how to make a YouTube Thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora.
You might be interested in
- How to Make Fortnite Thumbnail Super Easy and Free >>
- Best Size, Best Practices of Making YouTube Thumbnail >>
Part 1:10+ Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Windows/Mac/Online/Android/iPhone/iPad
In this part, we will share with you some Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers that you can use. Some of them are online solutions, so there is no need to download them, some of them can be downloaded on Windows or Mac computers.
If you prefer to edit videos on mobile devices, then it is good to have an app that allows you to create video thumbnails for YouTube videos. So in this part, we have included some video thumbnail maker apps that you can use on iPhone and Android phones.
1. Canva
It is a free thumbnail maker that can be accessed from its official website at Canva.com. This Video Thumbnail Maker is useful for graphic designers as it offers incredible features. The simple to use drag and drop type functions are wonderful, and the effects available for your Thumbnail Creation include free stock-type photos, Illustrations, Lines, Shapes, Frames, Grids, Backgrounds, Text, etc. The quick customer support facility is appreciable. Note: You need to sign up to use the thumbnail templates.
Main Features of this free YouTube Thumbnail Maker:
- It offers a customized YouTube thumbnail design
- You can change images, colors and fonts easily
- You can get more styles and templates if you pay
- Registration needed
2. Wondershare PixStudio
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. It has various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc. You can create a beautiful design by simply dragging and dropping the elements and photos. The online platform is free to use all templates, just One-Click to download your creations and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.
Features ：
- Various types of templates
- Simple and Fast Design
- Background remover
Available:
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
3. PicMonkey
This online thumbnail maker provides numerous filters, exclusive overlays, fonts, frames, and extra beautifying touch-up type tools to users with a single registration to Picmonkey’s premium membership. The exclusive effects like Ombre, zombify, premium fonts and Mirror are a really good collection of this tool. Now you can easily design beautiful collages, edit your memories, and create professional thumbnails with Picmonkey.com. Because of its wide range of options, it is probably the second most popular option for YouTubers who want to make professional thumbnails, right after Canva. One major difference between Picmonkey and Canva is that Picmonkey is no longer free. It costs $4 per month.
Features：
- As a youtube thumbnail maker, you also can touch up facial beautification
- Design tools make creative logos
- Provides 100+ designer-crafted thumbnail templates
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
4. Fotor
It is possible to get something outstanding even out of your simple content without making much effort because Fotor serves you with all advanced features, and it covers attractive themes from all over the world. Fotor allows you to re-discover your art and skills without any limitation as it offers all quick editing services online. It is very interactive and simple to use with all rich features, so even beginners who haven’t made any thumbnail before can make a video thumbnail with it easily.
Features：
- Your thumbnail will be saved on the cloud
- Fast processing speed while exporting your work
- Provides YouTube thumbnail templates for different scenarios
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
5. Fotojet
The fotojet.com online tool provides numerous facilities, whereas it is preferably used for collage making, graphic designing, and as a photo editor. With this advanced thumbnail creator tool, now you can easily rotate, crop, resize or filter your images while creating direct posts for social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. Fotojet.com possesses more than 600 stunning collage making templates that are suitable for your special events.
Features：
- It owns many templates for you to use
- Easy to have a high-quality thumbnail with only a few clicks
- 3 Steps to make a YouTube thumbnail
Available :
Online
Windows
Mac
6. Backgrounder
It allows you to design masterpieces of customized professional art, avatars, and thumbnails for videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is simple to use and contains an interactive user interface that is suitable for professionals as well as beginners.
Features：
- It owns a community that you can share works with other people
- The interface is extremely straightforward
Available :
Online
7. Pixlr:
It is a specially designs app version of well known Pixlr website where you can feel free to add overlays to your thumbnails. The choice of filters is also good for her with a high-end resolution as compared to available online solutions.
Features：
- Its free effects are a great source to come up with a new YouTube thumbnail
- Comprehensive editing tools are handy to use every day
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
8. Photo Editor:
Photo Editor is one of the most popular applications that assist users in the easy addition of stickers, frames, etc while it makes adjustment of redeye, brightness, and sharpness much easier. Most people love this application more due to its ability to create memes with available images and text for those images can be adjusted easily. The photo editor also makes it much easier to share edited stuff on Instagram and the quality of edited images use to be very high in this case.
Features：
- Color splash is a great tool to brighten up your thumbnail
- You can easily crop, rotate and flip
Available :
iPhone/iPad
9. Insta Collage:
The name of this application describes its most special feature that is it allows users to create wonderful collages within very little time. This tool comes with easy editing and sharing features so that users can have an easy interface on other platforms too. There are lots of effects that can be added to images while designing thumbnails and it is rated to have an outstanding quality of results.
Features：
- The personalized layout will give you a catchy thumbnail
- It owns 30 patterns and 18 frames to select
Available :
Android
10. Cropic:
Here is one more application for you that you will need for easy customization as well as fast sharing to YouTube as well as Instagram. Users can bring all size types to this platform, and it is also possible to add text at the time of editing. This tool is suggested for beginners as well as professionals due to its great results.
Features：
- You can scale the image by hand and cut it
- Pro version is more powerful for supporting 1224x1224 pixels
Available :
iPhone/iPad
With all these available software tools, it becomes much easier to create video Thumbnails for YouTube. The easy-to-follow steps are well described in different articles on the internet, but first of all, you need to make a selection between whether you need to use the online tool or wish to download the app on your device.
For the second case, you need to spare some memory in your device, whereas for the first one it demands a fast internet connection for easy services. Besides those specially designed YouTube Thumbnail makers, you can also create a thumbnail in Filmora if you’ve already installed it.
11. Snappa:
If you’re looking for a tool that can be upgraded later, then Snappa could be for you. Offering users both free and paid functions, Snappa will allow users to generate some truly alluring thumbnails, while still being able to use the tools for work on other social media platforms.
Features：
- Pre-Made Templates Available
- Easily Customize Backgrounds
- Place Custom Text Anywhere You Want
- Create a Truly Bespoke YouTube Thumbnail
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
12. Adobe Spark:
Not only is Adobe recognized for creating images in many different contexts, but it is also able to offer YouTubers a free tool to ensure that their video thumbnails are catching the eye of social network visitors.
Features：
- A Basic and Easy-To-Use Platform
- Ideal for Beginners
- Customize Colors, Backgrounds, and Text with Ease
- Add Additional Images if Needed
Available :
Windows 7 or newer
Mac OS X
Chromebook
Part 2: How to Make YouTube Thumbnails in Wondershare Filmora?
Filmora is easy to use and powerful video editing software for your YouTube videos, which allows you not only to cut, rotate, crop, reverse, or speed up your videos, but also to apply some advanced editing effects like green screen, PIP, audio editing, etc. within clicks.
Here are several creative ways of making thumbnails in Filmora. You can easily create a thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora’s new feature, AI portrait.
You can add your image or background image to Filmora and then add some filters, texts, overlay, or elements to the photo, and then take a snapshot, since Filmora features the snapshot tool which allows you to pick up the most attractive images from the video and use it as a video thumbnail.
Thumbnail created from a photo in Filmora
Or, you can extract frames from the video and use it as a thumbnail and upload it to YouTube later.
Thumbnail extracted from video footage in Filmora
One more creative way is to compositevideo footage with the green screen feature .
Use Green Screen to Create Video Thumbnail in Filmora
Where to find the thumbnail photo in Wondershare Filmora?
After clicking the Camera icon in Filmora to take a screenshot, you can find the photos by right-clicking the image in the Media library and then selecting Reveal in Explorer to check it.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
1. What Does Thumbnail Mean on YouTube?
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of images or videos. The name is an allusion to images being reduced to roughly the size of a human thumbnail. Thumbnails have special significance in YouTube SEO. They are used for drawing the viewers’ attention. A well-made thumbnail can bring millions of views for a YouTuber .
2. Which Is the Best Thumbnail Maker for YouTube?
Besides the thumbnail maker introduced above, the Filmora video editor and be used as an excellent thumbnail maker as well. Instead of going through the hassle of installing or subscribing to a separate program or website, it is better to use the extensive features of Filmora. It can take free snapshots for you, which you can modify within Filmora. There are stunning title templates, effects, overlays, transitions, and a large library of stock content at your service. From Part 2 in this article, you can see that making a YouTube thumbnail in Filmora is easy and efficient.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Video thumbnails are vital to get your videos more views. Many successful YouTubers make nice thumbnails which help them get lots of views and thus tons of subscribers.
If you are searching for software tools that can assist in the creation of YouTube video thumbnails, then you are on the right page because the details available below will provide you with complete information about the top 10+ highly rated YouTube Thumbnail Makers on both desktop and mobile devices. Some of them are free to create YouTube thumbnails; others may need to pay to get more advanced features. Besides, I’ll also show you how to create a thumbnail in the Filmora video editor in detail.
- Part 1: Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Online Users
- Part 2: How to Make Video Thumbnail with Wondershare Filmora [Creative Ways]
- Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
Before we get started, it is highly recommended to watch this video, teaching you how to make a YouTube Thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora.
You might be interested in
- How to Make Fortnite Thumbnail Super Easy and Free >>
- Best Size, Best Practices of Making YouTube Thumbnail >>
Part 1:10+ Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Windows/Mac/Online/Android/iPhone/iPad
In this part, we will share with you some Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers that you can use. Some of them are online solutions, so there is no need to download them, some of them can be downloaded on Windows or Mac computers.
If you prefer to edit videos on mobile devices, then it is good to have an app that allows you to create video thumbnails for YouTube videos. So in this part, we have included some video thumbnail maker apps that you can use on iPhone and Android phones.
1. Canva
It is a free thumbnail maker that can be accessed from its official website at Canva.com. This Video Thumbnail Maker is useful for graphic designers as it offers incredible features. The simple to use drag and drop type functions are wonderful, and the effects available for your Thumbnail Creation include free stock-type photos, Illustrations, Lines, Shapes, Frames, Grids, Backgrounds, Text, etc. The quick customer support facility is appreciable. Note: You need to sign up to use the thumbnail templates.
Main Features of this free YouTube Thumbnail Maker:
- It offers a customized YouTube thumbnail design
- You can change images, colors and fonts easily
- You can get more styles and templates if you pay
- Registration needed
2. Wondershare PixStudio
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. It has various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc. You can create a beautiful design by simply dragging and dropping the elements and photos. The online platform is free to use all templates, just One-Click to download your creations and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.
Features ：
- Various types of templates
- Simple and Fast Design
- Background remover
Available:
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
3. PicMonkey
This online thumbnail maker provides numerous filters, exclusive overlays, fonts, frames, and extra beautifying touch-up type tools to users with a single registration to Picmonkey’s premium membership. The exclusive effects like Ombre, zombify, premium fonts and Mirror are a really good collection of this tool. Now you can easily design beautiful collages, edit your memories, and create professional thumbnails with Picmonkey.com. Because of its wide range of options, it is probably the second most popular option for YouTubers who want to make professional thumbnails, right after Canva. One major difference between Picmonkey and Canva is that Picmonkey is no longer free. It costs $4 per month.
Features：
- As a youtube thumbnail maker, you also can touch up facial beautification
- Design tools make creative logos
- Provides 100+ designer-crafted thumbnail templates
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
4. Fotor
It is possible to get something outstanding even out of your simple content without making much effort because Fotor serves you with all advanced features, and it covers attractive themes from all over the world. Fotor allows you to re-discover your art and skills without any limitation as it offers all quick editing services online. It is very interactive and simple to use with all rich features, so even beginners who haven’t made any thumbnail before can make a video thumbnail with it easily.
Features：
- Your thumbnail will be saved on the cloud
- Fast processing speed while exporting your work
- Provides YouTube thumbnail templates for different scenarios
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
5. Fotojet
The fotojet.com online tool provides numerous facilities, whereas it is preferably used for collage making, graphic designing, and as a photo editor. With this advanced thumbnail creator tool, now you can easily rotate, crop, resize or filter your images while creating direct posts for social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. Fotojet.com possesses more than 600 stunning collage making templates that are suitable for your special events.
Features：
- It owns many templates for you to use
- Easy to have a high-quality thumbnail with only a few clicks
- 3 Steps to make a YouTube thumbnail
Available :
Online
Windows
Mac
6. Backgrounder
It allows you to design masterpieces of customized professional art, avatars, and thumbnails for videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is simple to use and contains an interactive user interface that is suitable for professionals as well as beginners.
Features：
- It owns a community that you can share works with other people
- The interface is extremely straightforward
Available :
Online
7. Pixlr:
It is a specially designs app version of well known Pixlr website where you can feel free to add overlays to your thumbnails. The choice of filters is also good for her with a high-end resolution as compared to available online solutions.
Features：
- Its free effects are a great source to come up with a new YouTube thumbnail
- Comprehensive editing tools are handy to use every day
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
8. Photo Editor:
Photo Editor is one of the most popular applications that assist users in the easy addition of stickers, frames, etc while it makes adjustment of redeye, brightness, and sharpness much easier. Most people love this application more due to its ability to create memes with available images and text for those images can be adjusted easily. The photo editor also makes it much easier to share edited stuff on Instagram and the quality of edited images use to be very high in this case.
Features：
- Color splash is a great tool to brighten up your thumbnail
- You can easily crop, rotate and flip
Available :
iPhone/iPad
9. Insta Collage:
The name of this application describes its most special feature that is it allows users to create wonderful collages within very little time. This tool comes with easy editing and sharing features so that users can have an easy interface on other platforms too. There are lots of effects that can be added to images while designing thumbnails and it is rated to have an outstanding quality of results.
Features：
- The personalized layout will give you a catchy thumbnail
- It owns 30 patterns and 18 frames to select
Available :
Android
10. Cropic:
Here is one more application for you that you will need for easy customization as well as fast sharing to YouTube as well as Instagram. Users can bring all size types to this platform, and it is also possible to add text at the time of editing. This tool is suggested for beginners as well as professionals due to its great results.
Features：
- You can scale the image by hand and cut it
- Pro version is more powerful for supporting 1224x1224 pixels
Available :
iPhone/iPad
With all these available software tools, it becomes much easier to create video Thumbnails for YouTube. The easy-to-follow steps are well described in different articles on the internet, but first of all, you need to make a selection between whether you need to use the online tool or wish to download the app on your device.
For the second case, you need to spare some memory in your device, whereas for the first one it demands a fast internet connection for easy services. Besides those specially designed YouTube Thumbnail makers, you can also create a thumbnail in Filmora if you’ve already installed it.
11. Snappa:
If you’re looking for a tool that can be upgraded later, then Snappa could be for you. Offering users both free and paid functions, Snappa will allow users to generate some truly alluring thumbnails, while still being able to use the tools for work on other social media platforms.
Features：
- Pre-Made Templates Available
- Easily Customize Backgrounds
- Place Custom Text Anywhere You Want
- Create a Truly Bespoke YouTube Thumbnail
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
12. Adobe Spark:
Not only is Adobe recognized for creating images in many different contexts, but it is also able to offer YouTubers a free tool to ensure that their video thumbnails are catching the eye of social network visitors.
Features：
- A Basic and Easy-To-Use Platform
- Ideal for Beginners
- Customize Colors, Backgrounds, and Text with Ease
- Add Additional Images if Needed
Available :
Windows 7 or newer
Mac OS X
Chromebook
Part 2: How to Make YouTube Thumbnails in Wondershare Filmora?
Filmora is easy to use and powerful video editing software for your YouTube videos, which allows you not only to cut, rotate, crop, reverse, or speed up your videos, but also to apply some advanced editing effects like green screen, PIP, audio editing, etc. within clicks.
Here are several creative ways of making thumbnails in Filmora. You can easily create a thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora’s new feature, AI portrait.
You can add your image or background image to Filmora and then add some filters, texts, overlay, or elements to the photo, and then take a snapshot, since Filmora features the snapshot tool which allows you to pick up the most attractive images from the video and use it as a video thumbnail.
Thumbnail created from a photo in Filmora
Or, you can extract frames from the video and use it as a thumbnail and upload it to YouTube later.
Thumbnail extracted from video footage in Filmora
One more creative way is to compositevideo footage with the green screen feature .
Use Green Screen to Create Video Thumbnail in Filmora
Where to find the thumbnail photo in Wondershare Filmora?
After clicking the Camera icon in Filmora to take a screenshot, you can find the photos by right-clicking the image in the Media library and then selecting Reveal in Explorer to check it.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
1. What Does Thumbnail Mean on YouTube?
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of images or videos. The name is an allusion to images being reduced to roughly the size of a human thumbnail. Thumbnails have special significance in YouTube SEO. They are used for drawing the viewers’ attention. A well-made thumbnail can bring millions of views for a YouTuber .
2. Which Is the Best Thumbnail Maker for YouTube?
Besides the thumbnail maker introduced above, the Filmora video editor and be used as an excellent thumbnail maker as well. Instead of going through the hassle of installing or subscribing to a separate program or website, it is better to use the extensive features of Filmora. It can take free snapshots for you, which you can modify within Filmora. There are stunning title templates, effects, overlays, transitions, and a large library of stock content at your service. From Part 2 in this article, you can see that making a YouTube thumbnail in Filmora is easy and efficient.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Video thumbnails are vital to get your videos more views. Many successful YouTubers make nice thumbnails which help them get lots of views and thus tons of subscribers.
If you are searching for software tools that can assist in the creation of YouTube video thumbnails, then you are on the right page because the details available below will provide you with complete information about the top 10+ highly rated YouTube Thumbnail Makers on both desktop and mobile devices. Some of them are free to create YouTube thumbnails; others may need to pay to get more advanced features. Besides, I’ll also show you how to create a thumbnail in the Filmora video editor in detail.
- Part 1: Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Online Users
- Part 2: How to Make Video Thumbnail with Wondershare Filmora [Creative Ways]
- Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
Before we get started, it is highly recommended to watch this video, teaching you how to make a YouTube Thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora.
You might be interested in
- How to Make Fortnite Thumbnail Super Easy and Free >>
- Best Size, Best Practices of Making YouTube Thumbnail >>
Part 1:10+ Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Windows/Mac/Online/Android/iPhone/iPad
In this part, we will share with you some Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers that you can use. Some of them are online solutions, so there is no need to download them, some of them can be downloaded on Windows or Mac computers.
If you prefer to edit videos on mobile devices, then it is good to have an app that allows you to create video thumbnails for YouTube videos. So in this part, we have included some video thumbnail maker apps that you can use on iPhone and Android phones.
1. Canva
It is a free thumbnail maker that can be accessed from its official website at Canva.com. This Video Thumbnail Maker is useful for graphic designers as it offers incredible features. The simple to use drag and drop type functions are wonderful, and the effects available for your Thumbnail Creation include free stock-type photos, Illustrations, Lines, Shapes, Frames, Grids, Backgrounds, Text, etc. The quick customer support facility is appreciable. Note: You need to sign up to use the thumbnail templates.
Main Features of this free YouTube Thumbnail Maker:
- It offers a customized YouTube thumbnail design
- You can change images, colors and fonts easily
- You can get more styles and templates if you pay
- Registration needed
2. Wondershare PixStudio
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. It has various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc. You can create a beautiful design by simply dragging and dropping the elements and photos. The online platform is free to use all templates, just One-Click to download your creations and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.
Features ：
- Various types of templates
- Simple and Fast Design
- Background remover
Available:
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
3. PicMonkey
This online thumbnail maker provides numerous filters, exclusive overlays, fonts, frames, and extra beautifying touch-up type tools to users with a single registration to Picmonkey’s premium membership. The exclusive effects like Ombre, zombify, premium fonts and Mirror are a really good collection of this tool. Now you can easily design beautiful collages, edit your memories, and create professional thumbnails with Picmonkey.com. Because of its wide range of options, it is probably the second most popular option for YouTubers who want to make professional thumbnails, right after Canva. One major difference between Picmonkey and Canva is that Picmonkey is no longer free. It costs $4 per month.
Features：
- As a youtube thumbnail maker, you also can touch up facial beautification
- Design tools make creative logos
- Provides 100+ designer-crafted thumbnail templates
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
4. Fotor
It is possible to get something outstanding even out of your simple content without making much effort because Fotor serves you with all advanced features, and it covers attractive themes from all over the world. Fotor allows you to re-discover your art and skills without any limitation as it offers all quick editing services online. It is very interactive and simple to use with all rich features, so even beginners who haven’t made any thumbnail before can make a video thumbnail with it easily.
Features：
- Your thumbnail will be saved on the cloud
- Fast processing speed while exporting your work
- Provides YouTube thumbnail templates for different scenarios
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
5. Fotojet
The fotojet.com online tool provides numerous facilities, whereas it is preferably used for collage making, graphic designing, and as a photo editor. With this advanced thumbnail creator tool, now you can easily rotate, crop, resize or filter your images while creating direct posts for social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. Fotojet.com possesses more than 600 stunning collage making templates that are suitable for your special events.
Features：
- It owns many templates for you to use
- Easy to have a high-quality thumbnail with only a few clicks
- 3 Steps to make a YouTube thumbnail
Available :
Online
Windows
Mac
6. Backgrounder
It allows you to design masterpieces of customized professional art, avatars, and thumbnails for videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is simple to use and contains an interactive user interface that is suitable for professionals as well as beginners.
Features：
- It owns a community that you can share works with other people
- The interface is extremely straightforward
Available :
Online
7. Pixlr:
It is a specially designs app version of well known Pixlr website where you can feel free to add overlays to your thumbnails. The choice of filters is also good for her with a high-end resolution as compared to available online solutions.
Features：
- Its free effects are a great source to come up with a new YouTube thumbnail
- Comprehensive editing tools are handy to use every day
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
8. Photo Editor:
Photo Editor is one of the most popular applications that assist users in the easy addition of stickers, frames, etc while it makes adjustment of redeye, brightness, and sharpness much easier. Most people love this application more due to its ability to create memes with available images and text for those images can be adjusted easily. The photo editor also makes it much easier to share edited stuff on Instagram and the quality of edited images use to be very high in this case.
Features：
- Color splash is a great tool to brighten up your thumbnail
- You can easily crop, rotate and flip
Available :
iPhone/iPad
9. Insta Collage:
The name of this application describes its most special feature that is it allows users to create wonderful collages within very little time. This tool comes with easy editing and sharing features so that users can have an easy interface on other platforms too. There are lots of effects that can be added to images while designing thumbnails and it is rated to have an outstanding quality of results.
Features：
- The personalized layout will give you a catchy thumbnail
- It owns 30 patterns and 18 frames to select
Available :
Android
10. Cropic:
Here is one more application for you that you will need for easy customization as well as fast sharing to YouTube as well as Instagram. Users can bring all size types to this platform, and it is also possible to add text at the time of editing. This tool is suggested for beginners as well as professionals due to its great results.
Features：
- You can scale the image by hand and cut it
- Pro version is more powerful for supporting 1224x1224 pixels
Available :
iPhone/iPad
With all these available software tools, it becomes much easier to create video Thumbnails for YouTube. The easy-to-follow steps are well described in different articles on the internet, but first of all, you need to make a selection between whether you need to use the online tool or wish to download the app on your device.
For the second case, you need to spare some memory in your device, whereas for the first one it demands a fast internet connection for easy services. Besides those specially designed YouTube Thumbnail makers, you can also create a thumbnail in Filmora if you’ve already installed it.
11. Snappa:
If you’re looking for a tool that can be upgraded later, then Snappa could be for you. Offering users both free and paid functions, Snappa will allow users to generate some truly alluring thumbnails, while still being able to use the tools for work on other social media platforms.
Features：
- Pre-Made Templates Available
- Easily Customize Backgrounds
- Place Custom Text Anywhere You Want
- Create a Truly Bespoke YouTube Thumbnail
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
12. Adobe Spark:
Not only is Adobe recognized for creating images in many different contexts, but it is also able to offer YouTubers a free tool to ensure that their video thumbnails are catching the eye of social network visitors.
Features：
- A Basic and Easy-To-Use Platform
- Ideal for Beginners
- Customize Colors, Backgrounds, and Text with Ease
- Add Additional Images if Needed
Available :
Windows 7 or newer
Mac OS X
Chromebook
Part 2: How to Make YouTube Thumbnails in Wondershare Filmora?
Filmora is easy to use and powerful video editing software for your YouTube videos, which allows you not only to cut, rotate, crop, reverse, or speed up your videos, but also to apply some advanced editing effects like green screen, PIP, audio editing, etc. within clicks.
Here are several creative ways of making thumbnails in Filmora. You can easily create a thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora’s new feature, AI portrait.
You can add your image or background image to Filmora and then add some filters, texts, overlay, or elements to the photo, and then take a snapshot, since Filmora features the snapshot tool which allows you to pick up the most attractive images from the video and use it as a video thumbnail.
Thumbnail created from a photo in Filmora
Or, you can extract frames from the video and use it as a thumbnail and upload it to YouTube later.
Thumbnail extracted from video footage in Filmora
One more creative way is to compositevideo footage with the green screen feature .
Use Green Screen to Create Video Thumbnail in Filmora
Where to find the thumbnail photo in Wondershare Filmora?
After clicking the Camera icon in Filmora to take a screenshot, you can find the photos by right-clicking the image in the Media library and then selecting Reveal in Explorer to check it.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
1. What Does Thumbnail Mean on YouTube?
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of images or videos. The name is an allusion to images being reduced to roughly the size of a human thumbnail. Thumbnails have special significance in YouTube SEO. They are used for drawing the viewers’ attention. A well-made thumbnail can bring millions of views for a YouTuber .
2. Which Is the Best Thumbnail Maker for YouTube?
Besides the thumbnail maker introduced above, the Filmora video editor and be used as an excellent thumbnail maker as well. Instead of going through the hassle of installing or subscribing to a separate program or website, it is better to use the extensive features of Filmora. It can take free snapshots for you, which you can modify within Filmora. There are stunning title templates, effects, overlays, transitions, and a large library of stock content at your service. From Part 2 in this article, you can see that making a YouTube thumbnail in Filmora is easy and efficient.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Video thumbnails are vital to get your videos more views. Many successful YouTubers make nice thumbnails which help them get lots of views and thus tons of subscribers.
If you are searching for software tools that can assist in the creation of YouTube video thumbnails, then you are on the right page because the details available below will provide you with complete information about the top 10+ highly rated YouTube Thumbnail Makers on both desktop and mobile devices. Some of them are free to create YouTube thumbnails; others may need to pay to get more advanced features. Besides, I’ll also show you how to create a thumbnail in the Filmora video editor in detail.
- Part 1: Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Online Users
- Part 2: How to Make Video Thumbnail with Wondershare Filmora [Creative Ways]
- Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
Before we get started, it is highly recommended to watch this video, teaching you how to make a YouTube Thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora.
You might be interested in
- How to Make Fortnite Thumbnail Super Easy and Free >>
- Best Size, Best Practices of Making YouTube Thumbnail >>
Part 1:10+ Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers for Windows/Mac/Online/Android/iPhone/iPad
In this part, we will share with you some Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers that you can use. Some of them are online solutions, so there is no need to download them, some of them can be downloaded on Windows or Mac computers.
If you prefer to edit videos on mobile devices, then it is good to have an app that allows you to create video thumbnails for YouTube videos. So in this part, we have included some video thumbnail maker apps that you can use on iPhone and Android phones.
1. Canva
It is a free thumbnail maker that can be accessed from its official website at Canva.com. This Video Thumbnail Maker is useful for graphic designers as it offers incredible features. The simple to use drag and drop type functions are wonderful, and the effects available for your Thumbnail Creation include free stock-type photos, Illustrations, Lines, Shapes, Frames, Grids, Backgrounds, Text, etc. The quick customer support facility is appreciable. Note: You need to sign up to use the thumbnail templates.
Main Features of this free YouTube Thumbnail Maker:
- It offers a customized YouTube thumbnail design
- You can change images, colors and fonts easily
- You can get more styles and templates if you pay
- Registration needed
2. Wondershare PixStudio
Wondershare PixStudio is an all-in-one and powerful online graphic design maker for everyone. It has various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc. You can create a beautiful design by simply dragging and dropping the elements and photos. The online platform is free to use all templates, just One-Click to download your creations and share to your Facebook, Instagram Story, YouTube Thumbnails, etc. immediately.
Features ：
- Various types of templates
- Simple and Fast Design
- Background remover
Available:
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
3. PicMonkey
This online thumbnail maker provides numerous filters, exclusive overlays, fonts, frames, and extra beautifying touch-up type tools to users with a single registration to Picmonkey’s premium membership. The exclusive effects like Ombre, zombify, premium fonts and Mirror are a really good collection of this tool. Now you can easily design beautiful collages, edit your memories, and create professional thumbnails with Picmonkey.com. Because of its wide range of options, it is probably the second most popular option for YouTubers who want to make professional thumbnails, right after Canva. One major difference between Picmonkey and Canva is that Picmonkey is no longer free. It costs $4 per month.
Features：
- As a youtube thumbnail maker, you also can touch up facial beautification
- Design tools make creative logos
- Provides 100+ designer-crafted thumbnail templates
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
4. Fotor
It is possible to get something outstanding even out of your simple content without making much effort because Fotor serves you with all advanced features, and it covers attractive themes from all over the world. Fotor allows you to re-discover your art and skills without any limitation as it offers all quick editing services online. It is very interactive and simple to use with all rich features, so even beginners who haven’t made any thumbnail before can make a video thumbnail with it easily.
Features：
- Your thumbnail will be saved on the cloud
- Fast processing speed while exporting your work
- Provides YouTube thumbnail templates for different scenarios
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
5. Fotojet
The fotojet.com online tool provides numerous facilities, whereas it is preferably used for collage making, graphic designing, and as a photo editor. With this advanced thumbnail creator tool, now you can easily rotate, crop, resize or filter your images while creating direct posts for social media pages such as Instagram, Facebook, etc. Fotojet.com possesses more than 600 stunning collage making templates that are suitable for your special events.
Features：
- It owns many templates for you to use
- Easy to have a high-quality thumbnail with only a few clicks
- 3 Steps to make a YouTube thumbnail
Available :
Online
Windows
Mac
6. Backgrounder
It allows you to design masterpieces of customized professional art, avatars, and thumbnails for videos on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It is simple to use and contains an interactive user interface that is suitable for professionals as well as beginners.
Features：
- It owns a community that you can share works with other people
- The interface is extremely straightforward
Available :
Online
7. Pixlr:
It is a specially designs app version of well known Pixlr website where you can feel free to add overlays to your thumbnails. The choice of filters is also good for her with a high-end resolution as compared to available online solutions.
Features：
- Its free effects are a great source to come up with a new YouTube thumbnail
- Comprehensive editing tools are handy to use every day
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
8. Photo Editor:
Photo Editor is one of the most popular applications that assist users in the easy addition of stickers, frames, etc while it makes adjustment of redeye, brightness, and sharpness much easier. Most people love this application more due to its ability to create memes with available images and text for those images can be adjusted easily. The photo editor also makes it much easier to share edited stuff on Instagram and the quality of edited images use to be very high in this case.
Features：
- Color splash is a great tool to brighten up your thumbnail
- You can easily crop, rotate and flip
Available :
iPhone/iPad
9. Insta Collage:
The name of this application describes its most special feature that is it allows users to create wonderful collages within very little time. This tool comes with easy editing and sharing features so that users can have an easy interface on other platforms too. There are lots of effects that can be added to images while designing thumbnails and it is rated to have an outstanding quality of results.
Features：
- The personalized layout will give you a catchy thumbnail
- It owns 30 patterns and 18 frames to select
Available :
Android
10. Cropic:
Here is one more application for you that you will need for easy customization as well as fast sharing to YouTube as well as Instagram. Users can bring all size types to this platform, and it is also possible to add text at the time of editing. This tool is suggested for beginners as well as professionals due to its great results.
Features：
- You can scale the image by hand and cut it
- Pro version is more powerful for supporting 1224x1224 pixels
Available :
iPhone/iPad
With all these available software tools, it becomes much easier to create video Thumbnails for YouTube. The easy-to-follow steps are well described in different articles on the internet, but first of all, you need to make a selection between whether you need to use the online tool or wish to download the app on your device.
For the second case, you need to spare some memory in your device, whereas for the first one it demands a fast internet connection for easy services. Besides those specially designed YouTube Thumbnail makers, you can also create a thumbnail in Filmora if you’ve already installed it.
11. Snappa:
If you’re looking for a tool that can be upgraded later, then Snappa could be for you. Offering users both free and paid functions, Snappa will allow users to generate some truly alluring thumbnails, while still being able to use the tools for work on other social media platforms.
Features：
- Pre-Made Templates Available
- Easily Customize Backgrounds
- Place Custom Text Anywhere You Want
- Create a Truly Bespoke YouTube Thumbnail
Available :
Online
iPhone/iPad
Android
12. Adobe Spark:
Not only is Adobe recognized for creating images in many different contexts, but it is also able to offer YouTubers a free tool to ensure that their video thumbnails are catching the eye of social network visitors.
Features：
- A Basic and Easy-To-Use Platform
- Ideal for Beginners
- Customize Colors, Backgrounds, and Text with Ease
- Add Additional Images if Needed
Available :
Windows 7 or newer
Mac OS X
Chromebook
Part 2: How to Make YouTube Thumbnails in Wondershare Filmora?
Filmora is easy to use and powerful video editing software for your YouTube videos, which allows you not only to cut, rotate, crop, reverse, or speed up your videos, but also to apply some advanced editing effects like green screen, PIP, audio editing, etc. within clicks.
Here are several creative ways of making thumbnails in Filmora. You can easily create a thumbnail in 30 seconds with Filmora’s new feature, AI portrait.
You can add your image or background image to Filmora and then add some filters, texts, overlay, or elements to the photo, and then take a snapshot, since Filmora features the snapshot tool which allows you to pick up the most attractive images from the video and use it as a video thumbnail.
Thumbnail created from a photo in Filmora
Or, you can extract frames from the video and use it as a thumbnail and upload it to YouTube later.
Thumbnail extracted from video footage in Filmora
One more creative way is to compositevideo footage with the green screen feature .
Use Green Screen to Create Video Thumbnail in Filmora
Where to find the thumbnail photo in Wondershare Filmora?
After clicking the Camera icon in Filmora to take a screenshot, you can find the photos by right-clicking the image in the Media library and then selecting Reveal in Explorer to check it.
Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )
Part 3: FAQs About YouTube Thumbnail
1. What Does Thumbnail Mean on YouTube?
Thumbnails are reduced-size versions of images or videos. The name is an allusion to images being reduced to roughly the size of a human thumbnail. Thumbnails have special significance in YouTube SEO. They are used for drawing the viewers’ attention. A well-made thumbnail can bring millions of views for a YouTuber .
2. Which Is the Best Thumbnail Maker for YouTube?
Besides the thumbnail maker introduced above, the Filmora video editor and be used as an excellent thumbnail maker as well. Instead of going through the hassle of installing or subscribing to a separate program or website, it is better to use the extensive features of Filmora. It can take free snapshots for you, which you can modify within Filmora. There are stunning title templates, effects, overlays, transitions, and a large library of stock content at your service. From Part 2 in this article, you can see that making a YouTube thumbnail in Filmora is easy and efficient.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Unveiling the World Through Your Lens: How To Become A Professional Travel Vlogger
How To Become A Travel Vlogger | The Ultimate Guide of Travel Vlogging
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to become a travel vlogger?
Traveling around the world is one of life’s most exciting experiences – just ask anyone who has caught the travel bug. It is no wonder that travel videos are a big hit on YouTube. Any viewer can be instantly transported to another part of the world, all from the comfort of their seat.
With all the high-quality cameras and video editing software that are much more accessible to the general public now than even a few years ago, it has never been a better time to make a travel vlog.
Below, I have prepared a comprehensive guide on how to become a travel vlogger.
Create Your Travel Vlog with Wondershare FilmoraX
Wondershare FilmoraX is a video editing application that offers a lot of editing features that can be used both by a beginner and professionals alike. You can easily cut, split and trim your video, and apply transitions, filters, and texts, etc. to your travel vlog. What’s more, its advanced color grading settings and audio keyframing will add a unique flavor to your travel vlog. Just get started and make your video go viral!
PART 1: TRAVEL VLOGGING EQUIPMENT
In order to make travel videos, you’re going to need camera equipment. Below, I’ve prepared a comprehensive list of cameras and accessories that would be good for travel vlogging.
Filmstock Stock Media Library ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-tourism?spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb&source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle )
1.1 Travel Vlogging Cameras
How To Choose A Vlogging Camera
When it comes to travel vlogging, you should look for a camera that ideally has the following eleven qualities:
- It has a fully articulated screen (flip screen)
- It has good continual autofocus while recording video
- It has good focus priority through face recognition
- It has touched to focus
- It has good low-light performance
- It has an external mic jack and a hot/cold shoe bracket
- It has optical image stabilization
- It is lightweight and portable
- It has a good battery life
- It is durable and weather-sealed
- It has hyper-lapse/timelapse/slow-motion shooting modes
For more information on why a lot of these features are ideal to have in a vlogging camera, check out my post on the Top 15 Best Cameras for Vlogging 2020 .
Cameras That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Considering my list on what to look for in a travel vlogging camera, I’ve prepared a table below of thirteen cameras I’d recommend for travel vlogging:
| Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | Mic Port | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CanonEOSM50 |  |
February2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| PanasonicLumixDC-GH5S |  |
January2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$$ |
| GoProHero6 Black |  |
September2017 | Action Camera | No | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOSM100 |  |
August2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | No | $ |
| CanonEOS6D Mark II |  |
June2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
| CanonEOS RebelSL2 |  |
June2017 | Compact SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $ |
| CanonEOS RebelT7i |  |
February2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOSM6 |  |
February2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | Yes | $ |
| SonyCyber-Shot DSCRX 100 V |  |
October2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $- |
| PanasonicLumix DMCG85 |  |
September2016 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| PanasonicLumix DMCLX10 |  |
September2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
| CanonEOS80D |  |
February2016 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
| CanonPowerShotG7 X Mark II |  |
February2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
Lenses That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Every travel vlogger should have a wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses fit much more of a scene into your camera frame, making it ideal for capturing establishing shots. You’ll also need a wide-angle lens if you plan on holding your camera out in front of yourself with an extended arm to get selfie footage.
As a travel vlogger, you’ll also want to show some close-up shots of the various subjects in your scene. If you don’t mind walking up to these subjects, the lens I recommend for this is a standard lens.
If, however, you want to be able to shoot these close-up shots from a farther distance, you’ll need a telephoto lens.
But you probably don’t want to carry and switch so many lenses as you travel, right? A convenient solution is to get a zoom lens that covers a wide range of focal lengths. For example, travel vlogger Sam Kolder shoots with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 lens – that’s a wide-angle lens, standard lens, and telephoto lens all in one lens!
If most of your travel video shooting will be done handheld, you should also definitely look for a lens equipped with optical image stabilization.
Check out my Best Camera Lens for YouTube to gain a more in-depth understanding of lenses and how they work.
1.2 Travel Vlogging Accessories
Camera Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
 |
1. Tripod Record stabilized shots and timelapse footage with a tripod. |
|---|---|
 |
2. GorillaPod SLR-Zoom with Ballhead Wrap your camera around structures that your regular tripod can’t stay on. You can also hold out your camera further away from you using the GorillaPod as a selfie stick to fit in more of your background into your selfie shot. |
 |
3. Stabilizing Gimbal Get super-smooth shots with a stabilizing gimbal. |
 |
4. On-Camera LED Light Is there not enough light? Add an LED light to your camera’s hot/cold shoe. |
 |
5. Neutral Density (ND) Filters Is it too bright outside to have your aperture wide open but you still want to get that cinematic look ? You can add ND filters to your lenses so that you can do just that in very bright conditions. |
 |
6. Camera Cleaning Kit While traveling, you can get all kinds of unwanted substances on your lens and in your camera like dust, dirt, fingerprints, raindrops, snow, and sand, to name a few. If you bring along a portable camera cleaning kit with you on your travels, you can remove those things immediately so that your shots won’t be affected. |
 |
7. Drone When it comes to travel vlogging, wide shots that establish the scene and setting are important. Drones are great for taking these kinds of wide shots from high places that you would not be able to get to by foot. |
Smartphone Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Using your smartphone as a travel vlogging device is a great idea! Your smartphone is a light and portable piece of equipment that you likely have with you at all times. Upgrade your smartphone travel vlogging setup with any of these 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers:
- RAVPower Portable Charger
- Arkon Tripod Mount
- Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case
- FLII Selfie Ring Light
- Rode VideoMic Me
- Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set
- iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone
- Manfrotto TwistGrip System
- Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones
Read more about each one of these items in my post The 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers .
Camera Mounted Shotgun Microphones for Travel Vlogging
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|
These four shotgun microphones can mount directly onto your camera’s hot/cold shoe:
- Rode VideoMic Go
- Shure VP83
- Rode VideoMic Pro+
- Sennheiser MKE 440
Read more about each one of them in our post about The 19 Best YouTube Microphones 2020 – Options for Music, Voiceovers, Vlogging, and more!
Other Useful Travel Vlogging Accessories
- Camera backpack
- Extra batteries
- Memory cards
- External hard drive
- Power plugs and cables
- USB card reader
- Universal plug
- D-ring clips (to prevent your equipment from slipping out of your grasp)
- Smartphone SD card tray key (if you’re storing your recorded footage in your SD card)
PART 2: TRAVEL VLOGGING IDEAS
If you’re needing some travel video ideas either to get you started or to bring some fresh content into your channel, here are ten travel video ideas that you can try.
1. Travel Vlog
Travel vlogging, the kind where you film yourself just going about your day in a different part of the world, is a great way to not only document your travel moments and memories for yourself, but also a great way to share your experience with others.
Rather than being too picky with your video shots and possibly ending up with a lack of footage to work with, shoot as much as you can.
Try to capture your thoughts and feelings around the things you taste, smell, see and hear. Sharing these details can help your viewers feel more like they’re with you on your travels.
2. Tips or Tricks for Traveling
Although learning from mistakes during your travels can be a rewarding experience, most people want to avoid them and, rather, enjoy their trip as much as they possibly can. After all, travel, for most people, happens in intervals that seem too short. You can help this sizable group by offering travel tips and tricks.
Prepare a list of tips and tricks, a shot list of all the footage you’ll need to go along with those tips, and then capture all your footage. As you go through your list, you can then cut away to your associated travel shots.
3. Video Tour of a Location
Many people are curious about different parts of the world and would love to join a tour without the high cost of flights, hotels, meals, and admission tickets. Give them that experience by making a video tour.
4. Review An Attraction or Experience
A lot of travelers having a limited amount of time and money to enjoy their chosen travel destinations want to know which attractions and experiences to prioritize and which ones to skip. Help them make their decision by making a video review.
5. Timelapse Videos
All you need in addition to your camera is a tripod to get started with making timelapse videos. Your tripod stabilizes your shot as your camera captures all the changes that take place in a given location.
When your footage is sped up, your viewers can appreciate all the changes that take place that they may not have had the patience to sit through in real-time. It’s also interesting to observe the passage of time in a different way.
6. Average Daily Cost
Before going on a trip, many people try to make a budget and figure out how much money to exchange into foreign currency. Making a good budget and getting just enough foreign cash, though, requires you to know how much, on average, things cost.
Make a helpful video on the average cost of daily expenses including meals and transportation like Paolo did in the above video “Average Daily Cost in Tokyo Japan | Is it Expensive?.” His video actually helped me a lot when I was trying to come up with a budget for my recent trip to Japan.
7. Interview Locals
People don’t travel only to see popular attractions. A lot of people travel to connect with and understand people from different parts of the world.
Interviewing locals and sharing their thoughts can help to provide that kind of connection.
8. What’s in My Backpack?
Packing for a trip can say a lot about who you are as a person because it involves prioritizing items based on your personal values.
For your next trip, share a little part of yourself with your audience through a video about the things you’ve packed in your bag.
9. Talk About Your Own Home City
When you’ve lived in your own home city for so long, you might forget that people all over the world may marvel at the things you take for granted because all those things just happen to be at your doorstep.
Take advantage of the expert that you already are in your own home city and make an informative video for others who are taking a trip there.
10. How To Become a Travel Vlogger
After you’ve done a lot of travel vlogging and learned so much along the way, you can make a video about how to be a travel vlogger.
In the above video, Andrew Santos teaches how to make a travel video, all while hilariously poking fun at many of the cliché trends in the travel genre.
PART 3: TRAVEL VIDEO EDITING
Video Editing Software
When it comes to editing your travel video together, there are different kinds of software you can do that with.
| FREE VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE | PAID VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE |
|---|---|
| OpenShot Video Editor (Windows, Mac, Linux) ShotCut (Windows, Mac, Linux) Hitfilm Express (Windows, Mac) VideoPad Video Editor (Windows) Lightworks (Windows, Mac, Linux) VSDC Video Editor (Windows) Machete Video Editor Lite (Windows) Avidemux (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) Read more about each software in our post about The Best Free Video Editing Software for YouTube – Top 8 Reviews . | Wondershare Filmora X (Windows, Mac) - start at $49.99 for one year license and Free trial Final Cut Pro (Mac) - $299.99, Free trial Vegas Movie Studio (Windows) - $49.99 |
Travel-Themed Video Effects
If you use Filmora Video Editor, you can also take advantage of a variety of travel-themed video effects packs, like the one shown in the above video, filled with titles, transitions, filters, overlays, and other visual elements.
For my recent trip to Japan, I actually used Filmora Effects’ Japanese set.
At the 2:10 mark of the above video, I used an overlay of falling cherry blossom leaves. At the 3:03 mark of the same video, I used an anime-themed overlay.
At the 2:48 mark of the above video, I used a shoji door transition.
Music Libraries
Music is an important component of a lot of travel videos. Here’s where you can get them:
| ROYALTY-FREE MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID SUBSCRIPTION MUSIC LIBRARIES |
|---|---|---|
| Audionautix Bensound dig.ccMixter Free Music Archive Free Stock Music Incompetech Josh Woodward Moby Gratis Musopen Purple Planet Music TeknoAXE YouTube Audio Library | Premium Beat Audio Jungle | Audio Network Audio Blocks Epidemic Sound |
Sound Effects
Free Sound Effect Sites
PART 4: TRAVEL VLOGGING TIPS
Vlog/Life Balance
- Give yourself more time at each location if you want to have a good balance between getting the shots you need and enjoying your present moment.
Theft Prevention
- Carry a backpack that doesn’t have zippers on the outside that thieves can easily get to.
- If you’re shooting with a flashy smartphone, make it look less appealing to thieves with a grotesque smartphone case, like an Otterbox.
- In locations with high crime, pre-plan the shots you want to capture and take your SLR camera out of your bag only to take those shots. Otherwise, keep your SLR camera concealed.
- Never leave your equipment unattended in a visible area, not even in a locked car.
Pre-Production and Planning
- Before shooting, make a shot list of all the footage you need.
- Have all your filming equipment that needs to be calibrated all calibrated and ready to use.
Onscreen Performance
- Look into your lens, not the projected image of yourself on your camera’s flip screen.
- Show a lot of energy as you film yourself.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, keep your talking head clips short and gradually build your way up to longer clips. You can break up longer sentences by saying a few words from one scene, saying a few more in another, and finishing off your last words, again, in another scene. Later, in editing, you can stitch all of those clips together to make one fluid sentence.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, you can capture your talking headshots later when you find a more secluded space.
Audio Recording
- Silence everything you don’t want your mic to record.
- Put your mobile phone in airplane mode.
- Block wind from reaching your mic with windscreens and dead cats.
- Upgrade your mic.
- Adjust your levels.
- Get close to the sound you are wanting to record.
Check out 10 Recording Tips to Get The Best Sound From Your Microphone for more audio recording tips.
Filming
- To avoid crowds, wake up early and grab your footage early while everyone else is still sleeping or getting ready.
- Capture wide shots, medium shots, and close-up shots for better coverage.
- Use the Sun Seeker app to set up your sunrise/sunset shots better.
- If your camera can record 4K footage, record in 4K all the scenes that you want to zoom in closer later in editing without losing quality (your video project in editing has to be at 1920p x 1080p for this to work).
Stabilization
- If you’re trying to get shots with movement by walking, rather than walking as you normally would walk with your knees bent for steadier shots.
- If you’re shooting something in front of your handheld, lean your arm against your own body for steadier shots.
- Use a stabilizing gimbal with your camera.
Timelapse/Hyperlapse
- Select scenes where you can see a lot of change over time (not a still building in front of a cloudless smoggy sky).
- Set longer intervals for scenes that change very slowly over time.
- Pre-set your focus. Turn autofocus off.
- Shoot time-lapses/hyper-lapses in manual mode to prevent the flickering that occurs with changing light conditions in automatic settings.
- If your camera is set on a tripod in a fixed position, turn your optical image stabilization off.
- If you aren’t holding onto your camera as it’s in the middle of making a timelapse video, at least keep your camera and tripod attached by some kind of leash mechanism.
- For moving time-lapses or hyper-lapses, try to keep one point of reference in the same position within your camera frame.
Slow Motion
- Shoot slow-motion videos when there is plenty of light.
- For actions that are as slow as walking, slowing down your footage to 50% of the original speed looks good enough. If your video editing project is in 30 fps, shooting your video in 60 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. If your video editing project is in 60 fps, shooting your video in 120 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. Any slower is overkill for slowing down the speed of walking.
- For actions that are as fast as water splashing, slowing down your footage as little as 15% of the original speed can look good. For a video editing project in 30 fps, you would need a camera that can shoot at up to 240 fps to slow your footage down this much.
Storage and Back-Up
- If you’re using a phone that can store images and videos on a separate SD card, take advantage of that and record your travel footage onto your SD card. Later, you can easily get to your travel media as it will all be in one place.
- If you have your laptop on you, regularly transfer your media files from your cameras to your external hard drives.
- If you don’t want to bring your laptop on your trip and plan to video edit once you’re back home, use a USB memory card reader that connects with an app on your phone to transfer your files into your external hard drive.
- If you have access to a reliable internet connection and you leave your laptop at your place of accommodation, have your computer upload your files onto cloud storage while you are out to travel vlogging.
- Take advantage of Google Photos’ free, unlimited cloud storage for video files up to 1080p.
Video Editing
- If you’re editing a video project with videos from multiple different cameras, make sure to set the correct time and date on all of them before you start filming. Later, in editing, you can import all your image and video files and sort them in the exact order that they were taken.
- If your video editing software can work with proxies, transcode all your video files into proxy files for much faster editing.
Posting On YouTube
- Choose a title that people will search for. Keep your target keywords at the beginning of your title. “S01E01: My Summer Backpacking Trip” is not an effective title. Instead, a title like “Going Up The Eiffel Tower… Beautiful View of Paris!” would be better.
Ready to Become a Travel Vlogger?
Here in this article, I shared travel vlogging cameras &accessories, travel video ideas& resources, and travel vlogging tips. Did you get more hints to become a travel vlogger? Stay tuned and start your own travel vlog! Leave your comments below if you have any suggestions about this travel vlogger guide.
This past year has been a challenge, so if you want to make a #travelanywhere video without traveling, you can try Wondershare Filmora X video editor.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to become a travel vlogger?
Traveling around the world is one of life’s most exciting experiences – just ask anyone who has caught the travel bug. It is no wonder that travel videos are a big hit on YouTube. Any viewer can be instantly transported to another part of the world, all from the comfort of their seat.
With all the high-quality cameras and video editing software that are much more accessible to the general public now than even a few years ago, it has never been a better time to make a travel vlog.
Below, I have prepared a comprehensive guide on how to become a travel vlogger.
Create Your Travel Vlog with Wondershare FilmoraX
Wondershare FilmoraX is a video editing application that offers a lot of editing features that can be used both by a beginner and professionals alike. You can easily cut, split and trim your video, and apply transitions, filters, and texts, etc. to your travel vlog. What’s more, its advanced color grading settings and audio keyframing will add a unique flavor to your travel vlog. Just get started and make your video go viral!
PART 1: TRAVEL VLOGGING EQUIPMENT
In order to make travel videos, you’re going to need camera equipment. Below, I’ve prepared a comprehensive list of cameras and accessories that would be good for travel vlogging.
Filmstock Stock Media Library ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-tourism?spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb&source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle )
1.1 Travel Vlogging Cameras
How To Choose A Vlogging Camera
When it comes to travel vlogging, you should look for a camera that ideally has the following eleven qualities:
- It has a fully articulated screen (flip screen)
- It has good continual autofocus while recording video
- It has good focus priority through face recognition
- It has touched to focus
- It has good low-light performance
- It has an external mic jack and a hot/cold shoe bracket
- It has optical image stabilization
- It is lightweight and portable
- It has a good battery life
- It is durable and weather-sealed
- It has hyper-lapse/timelapse/slow-motion shooting modes
For more information on why a lot of these features are ideal to have in a vlogging camera, check out my post on the Top 15 Best Cameras for Vlogging 2020 .
Cameras That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Considering my list on what to look for in a travel vlogging camera, I’ve prepared a table below of thirteen cameras I’d recommend for travel vlogging:
| Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | Mic Port | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CanonEOSM50 | |
February2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| PanasonicLumixDC-GH5S | |
January2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$$ |
| GoProHero6 Black | |
September2017 | Action Camera | No | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOSM100 | |
August2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | No | $ |
| CanonEOS6D Mark II | |
June2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
| CanonEOS RebelSL2 | |
June2017 | Compact SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $ |
| CanonEOS RebelT7i | |
February2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOSM6 | |
February2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | Yes | $ |
| SonyCyber-Shot DSCRX 100 V | |
October2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $- |
| PanasonicLumix DMCG85 | |
September2016 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| PanasonicLumix DMCLX10 | |
September2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
| CanonEOS80D | |
February2016 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
| CanonPowerShotG7 X Mark II | |
February2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
Lenses That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Every travel vlogger should have a wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses fit much more of a scene into your camera frame, making it ideal for capturing establishing shots. You’ll also need a wide-angle lens if you plan on holding your camera out in front of yourself with an extended arm to get selfie footage.
As a travel vlogger, you’ll also want to show some close-up shots of the various subjects in your scene. If you don’t mind walking up to these subjects, the lens I recommend for this is a standard lens.
If, however, you want to be able to shoot these close-up shots from a farther distance, you’ll need a telephoto lens.
But you probably don’t want to carry and switch so many lenses as you travel, right? A convenient solution is to get a zoom lens that covers a wide range of focal lengths. For example, travel vlogger Sam Kolder shoots with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 lens – that’s a wide-angle lens, standard lens, and telephoto lens all in one lens!
If most of your travel video shooting will be done handheld, you should also definitely look for a lens equipped with optical image stabilization.
Check out my Best Camera Lens for YouTube to gain a more in-depth understanding of lenses and how they work.
1.2 Travel Vlogging Accessories
Camera Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
|
1. Tripod Record stabilized shots and timelapse footage with a tripod. |
|---|---|
|
2. GorillaPod SLR-Zoom with Ballhead Wrap your camera around structures that your regular tripod can’t stay on. You can also hold out your camera further away from you using the GorillaPod as a selfie stick to fit in more of your background into your selfie shot. |
|
3. Stabilizing Gimbal Get super-smooth shots with a stabilizing gimbal. |
|
4. On-Camera LED Light Is there not enough light? Add an LED light to your camera’s hot/cold shoe. |
|
5. Neutral Density (ND) Filters Is it too bright outside to have your aperture wide open but you still want to get that cinematic look ? You can add ND filters to your lenses so that you can do just that in very bright conditions. |
|
6. Camera Cleaning Kit While traveling, you can get all kinds of unwanted substances on your lens and in your camera like dust, dirt, fingerprints, raindrops, snow, and sand, to name a few. If you bring along a portable camera cleaning kit with you on your travels, you can remove those things immediately so that your shots won’t be affected. |
|
7. Drone When it comes to travel vlogging, wide shots that establish the scene and setting are important. Drones are great for taking these kinds of wide shots from high places that you would not be able to get to by foot. |
Smartphone Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Using your smartphone as a travel vlogging device is a great idea! Your smartphone is a light and portable piece of equipment that you likely have with you at all times. Upgrade your smartphone travel vlogging setup with any of these 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers:
- RAVPower Portable Charger
- Arkon Tripod Mount
- Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case
- FLII Selfie Ring Light
- Rode VideoMic Me
- Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set
- iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone
- Manfrotto TwistGrip System
- Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones
Read more about each one of these items in my post The 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers .
Camera Mounted Shotgun Microphones for Travel Vlogging
|
|
|
|
|---|
These four shotgun microphones can mount directly onto your camera’s hot/cold shoe:
- Rode VideoMic Go
- Shure VP83
- Rode VideoMic Pro+
- Sennheiser MKE 440
Read more about each one of them in our post about The 19 Best YouTube Microphones 2020 – Options for Music, Voiceovers, Vlogging, and more!
Other Useful Travel Vlogging Accessories
- Camera backpack
- Extra batteries
- Memory cards
- External hard drive
- Power plugs and cables
- USB card reader
- Universal plug
- D-ring clips (to prevent your equipment from slipping out of your grasp)
- Smartphone SD card tray key (if you’re storing your recorded footage in your SD card)
PART 2: TRAVEL VLOGGING IDEAS
If you’re needing some travel video ideas either to get you started or to bring some fresh content into your channel, here are ten travel video ideas that you can try.
1. Travel Vlog
Travel vlogging, the kind where you film yourself just going about your day in a different part of the world, is a great way to not only document your travel moments and memories for yourself, but also a great way to share your experience with others.
Rather than being too picky with your video shots and possibly ending up with a lack of footage to work with, shoot as much as you can.
Try to capture your thoughts and feelings around the things you taste, smell, see and hear. Sharing these details can help your viewers feel more like they’re with you on your travels.
2. Tips or Tricks for Traveling
Although learning from mistakes during your travels can be a rewarding experience, most people want to avoid them and, rather, enjoy their trip as much as they possibly can. After all, travel, for most people, happens in intervals that seem too short. You can help this sizable group by offering travel tips and tricks.
Prepare a list of tips and tricks, a shot list of all the footage you’ll need to go along with those tips, and then capture all your footage. As you go through your list, you can then cut away to your associated travel shots.
3. Video Tour of a Location
Many people are curious about different parts of the world and would love to join a tour without the high cost of flights, hotels, meals, and admission tickets. Give them that experience by making a video tour.
4. Review An Attraction or Experience
A lot of travelers having a limited amount of time and money to enjoy their chosen travel destinations want to know which attractions and experiences to prioritize and which ones to skip. Help them make their decision by making a video review.
5. Timelapse Videos
All you need in addition to your camera is a tripod to get started with making timelapse videos. Your tripod stabilizes your shot as your camera captures all the changes that take place in a given location.
When your footage is sped up, your viewers can appreciate all the changes that take place that they may not have had the patience to sit through in real-time. It’s also interesting to observe the passage of time in a different way.
6. Average Daily Cost
Before going on a trip, many people try to make a budget and figure out how much money to exchange into foreign currency. Making a good budget and getting just enough foreign cash, though, requires you to know how much, on average, things cost.
Make a helpful video on the average cost of daily expenses including meals and transportation like Paolo did in the above video “Average Daily Cost in Tokyo Japan | Is it Expensive?.” His video actually helped me a lot when I was trying to come up with a budget for my recent trip to Japan.
7. Interview Locals
People don’t travel only to see popular attractions. A lot of people travel to connect with and understand people from different parts of the world.
Interviewing locals and sharing their thoughts can help to provide that kind of connection.
8. What’s in My Backpack?
Packing for a trip can say a lot about who you are as a person because it involves prioritizing items based on your personal values.
For your next trip, share a little part of yourself with your audience through a video about the things you’ve packed in your bag.
9. Talk About Your Own Home City
When you’ve lived in your own home city for so long, you might forget that people all over the world may marvel at the things you take for granted because all those things just happen to be at your doorstep.
Take advantage of the expert that you already are in your own home city and make an informative video for others who are taking a trip there.
10. How To Become a Travel Vlogger
After you’ve done a lot of travel vlogging and learned so much along the way, you can make a video about how to be a travel vlogger.
In the above video, Andrew Santos teaches how to make a travel video, all while hilariously poking fun at many of the cliché trends in the travel genre.
PART 3: TRAVEL VIDEO EDITING
Video Editing Software
When it comes to editing your travel video together, there are different kinds of software you can do that with.
| FREE VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE | PAID VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE |
|---|---|
| OpenShot Video Editor (Windows, Mac, Linux) ShotCut (Windows, Mac, Linux) Hitfilm Express (Windows, Mac) VideoPad Video Editor (Windows) Lightworks (Windows, Mac, Linux) VSDC Video Editor (Windows) Machete Video Editor Lite (Windows) Avidemux (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) Read more about each software in our post about The Best Free Video Editing Software for YouTube – Top 8 Reviews . | Wondershare Filmora X (Windows, Mac) - start at $49.99 for one year license and Free trial Final Cut Pro (Mac) - $299.99, Free trial Vegas Movie Studio (Windows) - $49.99 |
Travel-Themed Video Effects
If you use Filmora Video Editor, you can also take advantage of a variety of travel-themed video effects packs, like the one shown in the above video, filled with titles, transitions, filters, overlays, and other visual elements.
For my recent trip to Japan, I actually used Filmora Effects’ Japanese set.
At the 2:10 mark of the above video, I used an overlay of falling cherry blossom leaves. At the 3:03 mark of the same video, I used an anime-themed overlay.
At the 2:48 mark of the above video, I used a shoji door transition.
Music Libraries
Music is an important component of a lot of travel videos. Here’s where you can get them:
| ROYALTY-FREE MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID SUBSCRIPTION MUSIC LIBRARIES |
|---|---|---|
| Audionautix Bensound dig.ccMixter Free Music Archive Free Stock Music Incompetech Josh Woodward Moby Gratis Musopen Purple Planet Music TeknoAXE YouTube Audio Library | Premium Beat Audio Jungle | Audio Network Audio Blocks Epidemic Sound |
Sound Effects
Free Sound Effect Sites
PART 4: TRAVEL VLOGGING TIPS
Vlog/Life Balance
- Give yourself more time at each location if you want to have a good balance between getting the shots you need and enjoying your present moment.
Theft Prevention
- Carry a backpack that doesn’t have zippers on the outside that thieves can easily get to.
- If you’re shooting with a flashy smartphone, make it look less appealing to thieves with a grotesque smartphone case, like an Otterbox.
- In locations with high crime, pre-plan the shots you want to capture and take your SLR camera out of your bag only to take those shots. Otherwise, keep your SLR camera concealed.
- Never leave your equipment unattended in a visible area, not even in a locked car.
Pre-Production and Planning
- Before shooting, make a shot list of all the footage you need.
- Have all your filming equipment that needs to be calibrated all calibrated and ready to use.
Onscreen Performance
- Look into your lens, not the projected image of yourself on your camera’s flip screen.
- Show a lot of energy as you film yourself.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, keep your talking head clips short and gradually build your way up to longer clips. You can break up longer sentences by saying a few words from one scene, saying a few more in another, and finishing off your last words, again, in another scene. Later, in editing, you can stitch all of those clips together to make one fluid sentence.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, you can capture your talking headshots later when you find a more secluded space.
Audio Recording
- Silence everything you don’t want your mic to record.
- Put your mobile phone in airplane mode.
- Block wind from reaching your mic with windscreens and dead cats.
- Upgrade your mic.
- Adjust your levels.
- Get close to the sound you are wanting to record.
Check out 10 Recording Tips to Get The Best Sound From Your Microphone for more audio recording tips.
Filming
- To avoid crowds, wake up early and grab your footage early while everyone else is still sleeping or getting ready.
- Capture wide shots, medium shots, and close-up shots for better coverage.
- Use the Sun Seeker app to set up your sunrise/sunset shots better.
- If your camera can record 4K footage, record in 4K all the scenes that you want to zoom in closer later in editing without losing quality (your video project in editing has to be at 1920p x 1080p for this to work).
Stabilization
- If you’re trying to get shots with movement by walking, rather than walking as you normally would walk with your knees bent for steadier shots.
- If you’re shooting something in front of your handheld, lean your arm against your own body for steadier shots.
- Use a stabilizing gimbal with your camera.
Timelapse/Hyperlapse
- Select scenes where you can see a lot of change over time (not a still building in front of a cloudless smoggy sky).
- Set longer intervals for scenes that change very slowly over time.
- Pre-set your focus. Turn autofocus off.
- Shoot time-lapses/hyper-lapses in manual mode to prevent the flickering that occurs with changing light conditions in automatic settings.
- If your camera is set on a tripod in a fixed position, turn your optical image stabilization off.
- If you aren’t holding onto your camera as it’s in the middle of making a timelapse video, at least keep your camera and tripod attached by some kind of leash mechanism.
- For moving time-lapses or hyper-lapses, try to keep one point of reference in the same position within your camera frame.
Slow Motion
- Shoot slow-motion videos when there is plenty of light.
- For actions that are as slow as walking, slowing down your footage to 50% of the original speed looks good enough. If your video editing project is in 30 fps, shooting your video in 60 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. If your video editing project is in 60 fps, shooting your video in 120 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. Any slower is overkill for slowing down the speed of walking.
- For actions that are as fast as water splashing, slowing down your footage as little as 15% of the original speed can look good. For a video editing project in 30 fps, you would need a camera that can shoot at up to 240 fps to slow your footage down this much.
Storage and Back-Up
- If you’re using a phone that can store images and videos on a separate SD card, take advantage of that and record your travel footage onto your SD card. Later, you can easily get to your travel media as it will all be in one place.
- If you have your laptop on you, regularly transfer your media files from your cameras to your external hard drives.
- If you don’t want to bring your laptop on your trip and plan to video edit once you’re back home, use a USB memory card reader that connects with an app on your phone to transfer your files into your external hard drive.
- If you have access to a reliable internet connection and you leave your laptop at your place of accommodation, have your computer upload your files onto cloud storage while you are out to travel vlogging.
- Take advantage of Google Photos’ free, unlimited cloud storage for video files up to 1080p.
Video Editing
- If you’re editing a video project with videos from multiple different cameras, make sure to set the correct time and date on all of them before you start filming. Later, in editing, you can import all your image and video files and sort them in the exact order that they were taken.
- If your video editing software can work with proxies, transcode all your video files into proxy files for much faster editing.
Posting On YouTube
- Choose a title that people will search for. Keep your target keywords at the beginning of your title. “S01E01: My Summer Backpacking Trip” is not an effective title. Instead, a title like “Going Up The Eiffel Tower… Beautiful View of Paris!” would be better.
Ready to Become a Travel Vlogger?
Here in this article, I shared travel vlogging cameras &accessories, travel video ideas& resources, and travel vlogging tips. Did you get more hints to become a travel vlogger? Stay tuned and start your own travel vlog! Leave your comments below if you have any suggestions about this travel vlogger guide.
This past year has been a challenge, so if you want to make a #travelanywhere video without traveling, you can try Wondershare Filmora X video editor.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to become a travel vlogger?
Traveling around the world is one of life’s most exciting experiences – just ask anyone who has caught the travel bug. It is no wonder that travel videos are a big hit on YouTube. Any viewer can be instantly transported to another part of the world, all from the comfort of their seat.
With all the high-quality cameras and video editing software that are much more accessible to the general public now than even a few years ago, it has never been a better time to make a travel vlog.
Below, I have prepared a comprehensive guide on how to become a travel vlogger.
Create Your Travel Vlog with Wondershare FilmoraX
Wondershare FilmoraX is a video editing application that offers a lot of editing features that can be used both by a beginner and professionals alike. You can easily cut, split and trim your video, and apply transitions, filters, and texts, etc. to your travel vlog. What’s more, its advanced color grading settings and audio keyframing will add a unique flavor to your travel vlog. Just get started and make your video go viral!
PART 1: TRAVEL VLOGGING EQUIPMENT
In order to make travel videos, you’re going to need camera equipment. Below, I’ve prepared a comprehensive list of cameras and accessories that would be good for travel vlogging.
Filmstock Stock Media Library ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-tourism?spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb&source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle )
1.1 Travel Vlogging Cameras
How To Choose A Vlogging Camera
When it comes to travel vlogging, you should look for a camera that ideally has the following eleven qualities:
- It has a fully articulated screen (flip screen)
- It has good continual autofocus while recording video
- It has good focus priority through face recognition
- It has touched to focus
- It has good low-light performance
- It has an external mic jack and a hot/cold shoe bracket
- It has optical image stabilization
- It is lightweight and portable
- It has a good battery life
- It is durable and weather-sealed
- It has hyper-lapse/timelapse/slow-motion shooting modes
For more information on why a lot of these features are ideal to have in a vlogging camera, check out my post on the Top 15 Best Cameras for Vlogging 2020 .
Cameras That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Considering my list on what to look for in a travel vlogging camera, I’ve prepared a table below of thirteen cameras I’d recommend for travel vlogging:
| Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | Mic Port | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CanonEOSM50 | |
February2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| PanasonicLumixDC-GH5S | |
January2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$$ |
| GoProHero6 Black | |
September2017 | Action Camera | No | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOSM100 | |
August2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | No | $ |
| CanonEOS6D Mark II | |
June2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
| CanonEOS RebelSL2 | |
June2017 | Compact SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $ |
| CanonEOS RebelT7i | |
February2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOSM6 | |
February2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | Yes | $ |
| SonyCyber-Shot DSCRX 100 V | |
October2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $- |
| PanasonicLumix DMCG85 | |
September2016 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| PanasonicLumix DMCLX10 | |
September2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
| CanonEOS80D | |
February2016 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
| CanonPowerShotG7 X Mark II | |
February2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
Lenses That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Every travel vlogger should have a wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses fit much more of a scene into your camera frame, making it ideal for capturing establishing shots. You’ll also need a wide-angle lens if you plan on holding your camera out in front of yourself with an extended arm to get selfie footage.
As a travel vlogger, you’ll also want to show some close-up shots of the various subjects in your scene. If you don’t mind walking up to these subjects, the lens I recommend for this is a standard lens.
If, however, you want to be able to shoot these close-up shots from a farther distance, you’ll need a telephoto lens.
But you probably don’t want to carry and switch so many lenses as you travel, right? A convenient solution is to get a zoom lens that covers a wide range of focal lengths. For example, travel vlogger Sam Kolder shoots with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 lens – that’s a wide-angle lens, standard lens, and telephoto lens all in one lens!
If most of your travel video shooting will be done handheld, you should also definitely look for a lens equipped with optical image stabilization.
Check out my Best Camera Lens for YouTube to gain a more in-depth understanding of lenses and how they work.
1.2 Travel Vlogging Accessories
Camera Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
|
1. Tripod Record stabilized shots and timelapse footage with a tripod. |
|---|---|
|
2. GorillaPod SLR-Zoom with Ballhead Wrap your camera around structures that your regular tripod can’t stay on. You can also hold out your camera further away from you using the GorillaPod as a selfie stick to fit in more of your background into your selfie shot. |
|
3. Stabilizing Gimbal Get super-smooth shots with a stabilizing gimbal. |
|
4. On-Camera LED Light Is there not enough light? Add an LED light to your camera’s hot/cold shoe. |
|
5. Neutral Density (ND) Filters Is it too bright outside to have your aperture wide open but you still want to get that cinematic look ? You can add ND filters to your lenses so that you can do just that in very bright conditions. |
|
6. Camera Cleaning Kit While traveling, you can get all kinds of unwanted substances on your lens and in your camera like dust, dirt, fingerprints, raindrops, snow, and sand, to name a few. If you bring along a portable camera cleaning kit with you on your travels, you can remove those things immediately so that your shots won’t be affected. |
|
7. Drone When it comes to travel vlogging, wide shots that establish the scene and setting are important. Drones are great for taking these kinds of wide shots from high places that you would not be able to get to by foot. |
Smartphone Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Using your smartphone as a travel vlogging device is a great idea! Your smartphone is a light and portable piece of equipment that you likely have with you at all times. Upgrade your smartphone travel vlogging setup with any of these 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers:
- RAVPower Portable Charger
- Arkon Tripod Mount
- Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case
- FLII Selfie Ring Light
- Rode VideoMic Me
- Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set
- iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone
- Manfrotto TwistGrip System
- Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones
Read more about each one of these items in my post The 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers .
Camera Mounted Shotgun Microphones for Travel Vlogging
|
|
|
|
|---|
These four shotgun microphones can mount directly onto your camera’s hot/cold shoe:
- Rode VideoMic Go
- Shure VP83
- Rode VideoMic Pro+
- Sennheiser MKE 440
Read more about each one of them in our post about The 19 Best YouTube Microphones 2020 – Options for Music, Voiceovers, Vlogging, and more!
Other Useful Travel Vlogging Accessories
- Camera backpack
- Extra batteries
- Memory cards
- External hard drive
- Power plugs and cables
- USB card reader
- Universal plug
- D-ring clips (to prevent your equipment from slipping out of your grasp)
- Smartphone SD card tray key (if you’re storing your recorded footage in your SD card)
PART 2: TRAVEL VLOGGING IDEAS
If you’re needing some travel video ideas either to get you started or to bring some fresh content into your channel, here are ten travel video ideas that you can try.
1. Travel Vlog
Travel vlogging, the kind where you film yourself just going about your day in a different part of the world, is a great way to not only document your travel moments and memories for yourself, but also a great way to share your experience with others.
Rather than being too picky with your video shots and possibly ending up with a lack of footage to work with, shoot as much as you can.
Try to capture your thoughts and feelings around the things you taste, smell, see and hear. Sharing these details can help your viewers feel more like they’re with you on your travels.
2. Tips or Tricks for Traveling
Although learning from mistakes during your travels can be a rewarding experience, most people want to avoid them and, rather, enjoy their trip as much as they possibly can. After all, travel, for most people, happens in intervals that seem too short. You can help this sizable group by offering travel tips and tricks.
Prepare a list of tips and tricks, a shot list of all the footage you’ll need to go along with those tips, and then capture all your footage. As you go through your list, you can then cut away to your associated travel shots.
3. Video Tour of a Location
Many people are curious about different parts of the world and would love to join a tour without the high cost of flights, hotels, meals, and admission tickets. Give them that experience by making a video tour.
4. Review An Attraction or Experience
A lot of travelers having a limited amount of time and money to enjoy their chosen travel destinations want to know which attractions and experiences to prioritize and which ones to skip. Help them make their decision by making a video review.
5. Timelapse Videos
All you need in addition to your camera is a tripod to get started with making timelapse videos. Your tripod stabilizes your shot as your camera captures all the changes that take place in a given location.
When your footage is sped up, your viewers can appreciate all the changes that take place that they may not have had the patience to sit through in real-time. It’s also interesting to observe the passage of time in a different way.
6. Average Daily Cost
Before going on a trip, many people try to make a budget and figure out how much money to exchange into foreign currency. Making a good budget and getting just enough foreign cash, though, requires you to know how much, on average, things cost.
Make a helpful video on the average cost of daily expenses including meals and transportation like Paolo did in the above video “Average Daily Cost in Tokyo Japan | Is it Expensive?.” His video actually helped me a lot when I was trying to come up with a budget for my recent trip to Japan.
7. Interview Locals
People don’t travel only to see popular attractions. A lot of people travel to connect with and understand people from different parts of the world.
Interviewing locals and sharing their thoughts can help to provide that kind of connection.
8. What’s in My Backpack?
Packing for a trip can say a lot about who you are as a person because it involves prioritizing items based on your personal values.
For your next trip, share a little part of yourself with your audience through a video about the things you’ve packed in your bag.
9. Talk About Your Own Home City
When you’ve lived in your own home city for so long, you might forget that people all over the world may marvel at the things you take for granted because all those things just happen to be at your doorstep.
Take advantage of the expert that you already are in your own home city and make an informative video for others who are taking a trip there.
10. How To Become a Travel Vlogger
After you’ve done a lot of travel vlogging and learned so much along the way, you can make a video about how to be a travel vlogger.
In the above video, Andrew Santos teaches how to make a travel video, all while hilariously poking fun at many of the cliché trends in the travel genre.
PART 3: TRAVEL VIDEO EDITING
Video Editing Software
When it comes to editing your travel video together, there are different kinds of software you can do that with.
| FREE VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE | PAID VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE |
|---|---|
| OpenShot Video Editor (Windows, Mac, Linux) ShotCut (Windows, Mac, Linux) Hitfilm Express (Windows, Mac) VideoPad Video Editor (Windows) Lightworks (Windows, Mac, Linux) VSDC Video Editor (Windows) Machete Video Editor Lite (Windows) Avidemux (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) Read more about each software in our post about The Best Free Video Editing Software for YouTube – Top 8 Reviews . | Wondershare Filmora X (Windows, Mac) - start at $49.99 for one year license and Free trial Final Cut Pro (Mac) - $299.99, Free trial Vegas Movie Studio (Windows) - $49.99 |
Travel-Themed Video Effects
If you use Filmora Video Editor, you can also take advantage of a variety of travel-themed video effects packs, like the one shown in the above video, filled with titles, transitions, filters, overlays, and other visual elements.
For my recent trip to Japan, I actually used Filmora Effects’ Japanese set.
At the 2:10 mark of the above video, I used an overlay of falling cherry blossom leaves. At the 3:03 mark of the same video, I used an anime-themed overlay.
At the 2:48 mark of the above video, I used a shoji door transition.
Music Libraries
Music is an important component of a lot of travel videos. Here’s where you can get them:
| ROYALTY-FREE MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID SUBSCRIPTION MUSIC LIBRARIES |
|---|---|---|
| Audionautix Bensound dig.ccMixter Free Music Archive Free Stock Music Incompetech Josh Woodward Moby Gratis Musopen Purple Planet Music TeknoAXE YouTube Audio Library | Premium Beat Audio Jungle | Audio Network Audio Blocks Epidemic Sound |
Sound Effects
Free Sound Effect Sites
PART 4: TRAVEL VLOGGING TIPS
Vlog/Life Balance
- Give yourself more time at each location if you want to have a good balance between getting the shots you need and enjoying your present moment.
Theft Prevention
- Carry a backpack that doesn’t have zippers on the outside that thieves can easily get to.
- If you’re shooting with a flashy smartphone, make it look less appealing to thieves with a grotesque smartphone case, like an Otterbox.
- In locations with high crime, pre-plan the shots you want to capture and take your SLR camera out of your bag only to take those shots. Otherwise, keep your SLR camera concealed.
- Never leave your equipment unattended in a visible area, not even in a locked car.
Pre-Production and Planning
- Before shooting, make a shot list of all the footage you need.
- Have all your filming equipment that needs to be calibrated all calibrated and ready to use.
Onscreen Performance
- Look into your lens, not the projected image of yourself on your camera’s flip screen.
- Show a lot of energy as you film yourself.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, keep your talking head clips short and gradually build your way up to longer clips. You can break up longer sentences by saying a few words from one scene, saying a few more in another, and finishing off your last words, again, in another scene. Later, in editing, you can stitch all of those clips together to make one fluid sentence.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, you can capture your talking headshots later when you find a more secluded space.
Audio Recording
- Silence everything you don’t want your mic to record.
- Put your mobile phone in airplane mode.
- Block wind from reaching your mic with windscreens and dead cats.
- Upgrade your mic.
- Adjust your levels.
- Get close to the sound you are wanting to record.
Check out 10 Recording Tips to Get The Best Sound From Your Microphone for more audio recording tips.
Filming
- To avoid crowds, wake up early and grab your footage early while everyone else is still sleeping or getting ready.
- Capture wide shots, medium shots, and close-up shots for better coverage.
- Use the Sun Seeker app to set up your sunrise/sunset shots better.
- If your camera can record 4K footage, record in 4K all the scenes that you want to zoom in closer later in editing without losing quality (your video project in editing has to be at 1920p x 1080p for this to work).
Stabilization
- If you’re trying to get shots with movement by walking, rather than walking as you normally would walk with your knees bent for steadier shots.
- If you’re shooting something in front of your handheld, lean your arm against your own body for steadier shots.
- Use a stabilizing gimbal with your camera.
Timelapse/Hyperlapse
- Select scenes where you can see a lot of change over time (not a still building in front of a cloudless smoggy sky).
- Set longer intervals for scenes that change very slowly over time.
- Pre-set your focus. Turn autofocus off.
- Shoot time-lapses/hyper-lapses in manual mode to prevent the flickering that occurs with changing light conditions in automatic settings.
- If your camera is set on a tripod in a fixed position, turn your optical image stabilization off.
- If you aren’t holding onto your camera as it’s in the middle of making a timelapse video, at least keep your camera and tripod attached by some kind of leash mechanism.
- For moving time-lapses or hyper-lapses, try to keep one point of reference in the same position within your camera frame.
Slow Motion
- Shoot slow-motion videos when there is plenty of light.
- For actions that are as slow as walking, slowing down your footage to 50% of the original speed looks good enough. If your video editing project is in 30 fps, shooting your video in 60 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. If your video editing project is in 60 fps, shooting your video in 120 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. Any slower is overkill for slowing down the speed of walking.
- For actions that are as fast as water splashing, slowing down your footage as little as 15% of the original speed can look good. For a video editing project in 30 fps, you would need a camera that can shoot at up to 240 fps to slow your footage down this much.
Storage and Back-Up
- If you’re using a phone that can store images and videos on a separate SD card, take advantage of that and record your travel footage onto your SD card. Later, you can easily get to your travel media as it will all be in one place.
- If you have your laptop on you, regularly transfer your media files from your cameras to your external hard drives.
- If you don’t want to bring your laptop on your trip and plan to video edit once you’re back home, use a USB memory card reader that connects with an app on your phone to transfer your files into your external hard drive.
- If you have access to a reliable internet connection and you leave your laptop at your place of accommodation, have your computer upload your files onto cloud storage while you are out to travel vlogging.
- Take advantage of Google Photos’ free, unlimited cloud storage for video files up to 1080p.
Video Editing
- If you’re editing a video project with videos from multiple different cameras, make sure to set the correct time and date on all of them before you start filming. Later, in editing, you can import all your image and video files and sort them in the exact order that they were taken.
- If your video editing software can work with proxies, transcode all your video files into proxy files for much faster editing.
Posting On YouTube
- Choose a title that people will search for. Keep your target keywords at the beginning of your title. “S01E01: My Summer Backpacking Trip” is not an effective title. Instead, a title like “Going Up The Eiffel Tower… Beautiful View of Paris!” would be better.
Ready to Become a Travel Vlogger?
Here in this article, I shared travel vlogging cameras &accessories, travel video ideas& resources, and travel vlogging tips. Did you get more hints to become a travel vlogger? Stay tuned and start your own travel vlog! Leave your comments below if you have any suggestions about this travel vlogger guide.
This past year has been a challenge, so if you want to make a #travelanywhere video without traveling, you can try Wondershare Filmora X video editor.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to become a travel vlogger?
Traveling around the world is one of life’s most exciting experiences – just ask anyone who has caught the travel bug. It is no wonder that travel videos are a big hit on YouTube. Any viewer can be instantly transported to another part of the world, all from the comfort of their seat.
With all the high-quality cameras and video editing software that are much more accessible to the general public now than even a few years ago, it has never been a better time to make a travel vlog.
Below, I have prepared a comprehensive guide on how to become a travel vlogger.
Create Your Travel Vlog with Wondershare FilmoraX
Wondershare FilmoraX is a video editing application that offers a lot of editing features that can be used both by a beginner and professionals alike. You can easily cut, split and trim your video, and apply transitions, filters, and texts, etc. to your travel vlog. What’s more, its advanced color grading settings and audio keyframing will add a unique flavor to your travel vlog. Just get started and make your video go viral!
PART 1: TRAVEL VLOGGING EQUIPMENT
In order to make travel videos, you’re going to need camera equipment. Below, I’ve prepared a comprehensive list of cameras and accessories that would be good for travel vlogging.
Filmstock Stock Media Library ](https://filmstock.wondershare.com/creative-theme-tourism?spm=rs.filmora%5Fweb&source%5Fchannel=seo%5Farticle )
1.1 Travel Vlogging Cameras
How To Choose A Vlogging Camera
When it comes to travel vlogging, you should look for a camera that ideally has the following eleven qualities:
- It has a fully articulated screen (flip screen)
- It has good continual autofocus while recording video
- It has good focus priority through face recognition
- It has touched to focus
- It has good low-light performance
- It has an external mic jack and a hot/cold shoe bracket
- It has optical image stabilization
- It is lightweight and portable
- It has a good battery life
- It is durable and weather-sealed
- It has hyper-lapse/timelapse/slow-motion shooting modes
For more information on why a lot of these features are ideal to have in a vlogging camera, check out my post on the Top 15 Best Cameras for Vlogging 2020 .
Cameras That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Considering my list on what to look for in a travel vlogging camera, I’ve prepared a table below of thirteen cameras I’d recommend for travel vlogging:
| Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | Mic Port | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CanonEOSM50 | |
February2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| PanasonicLumixDC-GH5S | |
January2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$$ |
| GoProHero6 Black | |
September2017 | Action Camera | No | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOSM100 | |
August2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | No | $ |
| CanonEOS6D Mark II | |
June2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
| CanonEOS RebelSL2 | |
June2017 | Compact SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $ |
| CanonEOS RebelT7i | |
February2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOSM6 | |
February2017 | Mirrorless | Flip-Up | Yes | $ |
| SonyCyber-Shot DSCRX 100 V | |
October2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $- |
| PanasonicLumix DMCG85 | |
September2016 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| PanasonicLumix DMCLX10 | |
September2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
| CanonEOS80D | |
February2016 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
| CanonPowerShotG7 X Mark II | |
February2016 | Compact | Flip-Up | No | $ |
Lenses That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Every travel vlogger should have a wide-angle lens. Wide-angle lenses fit much more of a scene into your camera frame, making it ideal for capturing establishing shots. You’ll also need a wide-angle lens if you plan on holding your camera out in front of yourself with an extended arm to get selfie footage.
As a travel vlogger, you’ll also want to show some close-up shots of the various subjects in your scene. If you don’t mind walking up to these subjects, the lens I recommend for this is a standard lens.
If, however, you want to be able to shoot these close-up shots from a farther distance, you’ll need a telephoto lens.
But you probably don’t want to carry and switch so many lenses as you travel, right? A convenient solution is to get a zoom lens that covers a wide range of focal lengths. For example, travel vlogger Sam Kolder shoots with a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 lens – that’s a wide-angle lens, standard lens, and telephoto lens all in one lens!
If most of your travel video shooting will be done handheld, you should also definitely look for a lens equipped with optical image stabilization.
Check out my Best Camera Lens for YouTube to gain a more in-depth understanding of lenses and how they work.
1.2 Travel Vlogging Accessories
Camera Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
|
1. Tripod Record stabilized shots and timelapse footage with a tripod. |
|---|---|
|
2. GorillaPod SLR-Zoom with Ballhead Wrap your camera around structures that your regular tripod can’t stay on. You can also hold out your camera further away from you using the GorillaPod as a selfie stick to fit in more of your background into your selfie shot. |
|
3. Stabilizing Gimbal Get super-smooth shots with a stabilizing gimbal. |
|
4. On-Camera LED Light Is there not enough light? Add an LED light to your camera’s hot/cold shoe. |
|
5. Neutral Density (ND) Filters Is it too bright outside to have your aperture wide open but you still want to get that cinematic look ? You can add ND filters to your lenses so that you can do just that in very bright conditions. |
|
6. Camera Cleaning Kit While traveling, you can get all kinds of unwanted substances on your lens and in your camera like dust, dirt, fingerprints, raindrops, snow, and sand, to name a few. If you bring along a portable camera cleaning kit with you on your travels, you can remove those things immediately so that your shots won’t be affected. |
|
7. Drone When it comes to travel vlogging, wide shots that establish the scene and setting are important. Drones are great for taking these kinds of wide shots from high places that you would not be able to get to by foot. |
Smartphone Accessories That Are Good For Travel Vlogging
Using your smartphone as a travel vlogging device is a great idea! Your smartphone is a light and portable piece of equipment that you likely have with you at all times. Upgrade your smartphone travel vlogging setup with any of these 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers:
- RAVPower Portable Charger
- Arkon Tripod Mount
- Mega Tiny Anti-Gravity Case
- FLII Selfie Ring Light
- Rode VideoMic Me
- Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set
- iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone
- Manfrotto TwistGrip System
- Zhiyun Smooth-Q 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer for Smartphones
Read more about each one of these items in my post The 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers .
Camera Mounted Shotgun Microphones for Travel Vlogging
|
|
|
|
|---|
These four shotgun microphones can mount directly onto your camera’s hot/cold shoe:
- Rode VideoMic Go
- Shure VP83
- Rode VideoMic Pro+
- Sennheiser MKE 440
Read more about each one of them in our post about The 19 Best YouTube Microphones 2020 – Options for Music, Voiceovers, Vlogging, and more!
Other Useful Travel Vlogging Accessories
- Camera backpack
- Extra batteries
- Memory cards
- External hard drive
- Power plugs and cables
- USB card reader
- Universal plug
- D-ring clips (to prevent your equipment from slipping out of your grasp)
- Smartphone SD card tray key (if you’re storing your recorded footage in your SD card)
PART 2: TRAVEL VLOGGING IDEAS
If you’re needing some travel video ideas either to get you started or to bring some fresh content into your channel, here are ten travel video ideas that you can try.
1. Travel Vlog
Travel vlogging, the kind where you film yourself just going about your day in a different part of the world, is a great way to not only document your travel moments and memories for yourself, but also a great way to share your experience with others.
Rather than being too picky with your video shots and possibly ending up with a lack of footage to work with, shoot as much as you can.
Try to capture your thoughts and feelings around the things you taste, smell, see and hear. Sharing these details can help your viewers feel more like they’re with you on your travels.
2. Tips or Tricks for Traveling
Although learning from mistakes during your travels can be a rewarding experience, most people want to avoid them and, rather, enjoy their trip as much as they possibly can. After all, travel, for most people, happens in intervals that seem too short. You can help this sizable group by offering travel tips and tricks.
Prepare a list of tips and tricks, a shot list of all the footage you’ll need to go along with those tips, and then capture all your footage. As you go through your list, you can then cut away to your associated travel shots.
3. Video Tour of a Location
Many people are curious about different parts of the world and would love to join a tour without the high cost of flights, hotels, meals, and admission tickets. Give them that experience by making a video tour.
4. Review An Attraction or Experience
A lot of travelers having a limited amount of time and money to enjoy their chosen travel destinations want to know which attractions and experiences to prioritize and which ones to skip. Help them make their decision by making a video review.
5. Timelapse Videos
All you need in addition to your camera is a tripod to get started with making timelapse videos. Your tripod stabilizes your shot as your camera captures all the changes that take place in a given location.
When your footage is sped up, your viewers can appreciate all the changes that take place that they may not have had the patience to sit through in real-time. It’s also interesting to observe the passage of time in a different way.
6. Average Daily Cost
Before going on a trip, many people try to make a budget and figure out how much money to exchange into foreign currency. Making a good budget and getting just enough foreign cash, though, requires you to know how much, on average, things cost.
Make a helpful video on the average cost of daily expenses including meals and transportation like Paolo did in the above video “Average Daily Cost in Tokyo Japan | Is it Expensive?.” His video actually helped me a lot when I was trying to come up with a budget for my recent trip to Japan.
7. Interview Locals
People don’t travel only to see popular attractions. A lot of people travel to connect with and understand people from different parts of the world.
Interviewing locals and sharing their thoughts can help to provide that kind of connection.
8. What’s in My Backpack?
Packing for a trip can say a lot about who you are as a person because it involves prioritizing items based on your personal values.
For your next trip, share a little part of yourself with your audience through a video about the things you’ve packed in your bag.
9. Talk About Your Own Home City
When you’ve lived in your own home city for so long, you might forget that people all over the world may marvel at the things you take for granted because all those things just happen to be at your doorstep.
Take advantage of the expert that you already are in your own home city and make an informative video for others who are taking a trip there.
10. How To Become a Travel Vlogger
After you’ve done a lot of travel vlogging and learned so much along the way, you can make a video about how to be a travel vlogger.
In the above video, Andrew Santos teaches how to make a travel video, all while hilariously poking fun at many of the cliché trends in the travel genre.
PART 3: TRAVEL VIDEO EDITING
Video Editing Software
When it comes to editing your travel video together, there are different kinds of software you can do that with.
| FREE VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE | PAID VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE |
|---|---|
| OpenShot Video Editor (Windows, Mac, Linux) ShotCut (Windows, Mac, Linux) Hitfilm Express (Windows, Mac) VideoPad Video Editor (Windows) Lightworks (Windows, Mac, Linux) VSDC Video Editor (Windows) Machete Video Editor Lite (Windows) Avidemux (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) Read more about each software in our post about The Best Free Video Editing Software for YouTube – Top 8 Reviews . | Wondershare Filmora X (Windows, Mac) - start at $49.99 for one year license and Free trial Final Cut Pro (Mac) - $299.99, Free trial Vegas Movie Studio (Windows) - $49.99 |
Travel-Themed Video Effects
If you use Filmora Video Editor, you can also take advantage of a variety of travel-themed video effects packs, like the one shown in the above video, filled with titles, transitions, filters, overlays, and other visual elements.
For my recent trip to Japan, I actually used Filmora Effects’ Japanese set.
At the 2:10 mark of the above video, I used an overlay of falling cherry blossom leaves. At the 3:03 mark of the same video, I used an anime-themed overlay.
At the 2:48 mark of the above video, I used a shoji door transition.
Music Libraries
Music is an important component of a lot of travel videos. Here’s where you can get them:
| ROYALTY-FREE MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID SUBSCRIPTION MUSIC LIBRARIES |
|---|---|---|
| Audionautix Bensound dig.ccMixter Free Music Archive Free Stock Music Incompetech Josh Woodward Moby Gratis Musopen Purple Planet Music TeknoAXE YouTube Audio Library | Premium Beat Audio Jungle | Audio Network Audio Blocks Epidemic Sound |
Sound Effects
Free Sound Effect Sites
PART 4: TRAVEL VLOGGING TIPS
Vlog/Life Balance
- Give yourself more time at each location if you want to have a good balance between getting the shots you need and enjoying your present moment.
Theft Prevention
- Carry a backpack that doesn’t have zippers on the outside that thieves can easily get to.
- If you’re shooting with a flashy smartphone, make it look less appealing to thieves with a grotesque smartphone case, like an Otterbox.
- In locations with high crime, pre-plan the shots you want to capture and take your SLR camera out of your bag only to take those shots. Otherwise, keep your SLR camera concealed.
- Never leave your equipment unattended in a visible area, not even in a locked car.
Pre-Production and Planning
- Before shooting, make a shot list of all the footage you need.
- Have all your filming equipment that needs to be calibrated all calibrated and ready to use.
Onscreen Performance
- Look into your lens, not the projected image of yourself on your camera’s flip screen.
- Show a lot of energy as you film yourself.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, keep your talking head clips short and gradually build your way up to longer clips. You can break up longer sentences by saying a few words from one scene, saying a few more in another, and finishing off your last words, again, in another scene. Later, in editing, you can stitch all of those clips together to make one fluid sentence.
- If you’re nervous about talking to the camera in public, you can capture your talking headshots later when you find a more secluded space.
Audio Recording
- Silence everything you don’t want your mic to record.
- Put your mobile phone in airplane mode.
- Block wind from reaching your mic with windscreens and dead cats.
- Upgrade your mic.
- Adjust your levels.
- Get close to the sound you are wanting to record.
Check out 10 Recording Tips to Get The Best Sound From Your Microphone for more audio recording tips.
Filming
- To avoid crowds, wake up early and grab your footage early while everyone else is still sleeping or getting ready.
- Capture wide shots, medium shots, and close-up shots for better coverage.
- Use the Sun Seeker app to set up your sunrise/sunset shots better.
- If your camera can record 4K footage, record in 4K all the scenes that you want to zoom in closer later in editing without losing quality (your video project in editing has to be at 1920p x 1080p for this to work).
Stabilization
- If you’re trying to get shots with movement by walking, rather than walking as you normally would walk with your knees bent for steadier shots.
- If you’re shooting something in front of your handheld, lean your arm against your own body for steadier shots.
- Use a stabilizing gimbal with your camera.
Timelapse/Hyperlapse
- Select scenes where you can see a lot of change over time (not a still building in front of a cloudless smoggy sky).
- Set longer intervals for scenes that change very slowly over time.
- Pre-set your focus. Turn autofocus off.
- Shoot time-lapses/hyper-lapses in manual mode to prevent the flickering that occurs with changing light conditions in automatic settings.
- If your camera is set on a tripod in a fixed position, turn your optical image stabilization off.
- If you aren’t holding onto your camera as it’s in the middle of making a timelapse video, at least keep your camera and tripod attached by some kind of leash mechanism.
- For moving time-lapses or hyper-lapses, try to keep one point of reference in the same position within your camera frame.
Slow Motion
- Shoot slow-motion videos when there is plenty of light.
- For actions that are as slow as walking, slowing down your footage to 50% of the original speed looks good enough. If your video editing project is in 30 fps, shooting your video in 60 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. If your video editing project is in 60 fps, shooting your video in 120 fps will give you a 50% slow-motion video. Any slower is overkill for slowing down the speed of walking.
- For actions that are as fast as water splashing, slowing down your footage as little as 15% of the original speed can look good. For a video editing project in 30 fps, you would need a camera that can shoot at up to 240 fps to slow your footage down this much.
Storage and Back-Up
- If you’re using a phone that can store images and videos on a separate SD card, take advantage of that and record your travel footage onto your SD card. Later, you can easily get to your travel media as it will all be in one place.
- If you have your laptop on you, regularly transfer your media files from your cameras to your external hard drives.
- If you don’t want to bring your laptop on your trip and plan to video edit once you’re back home, use a USB memory card reader that connects with an app on your phone to transfer your files into your external hard drive.
- If you have access to a reliable internet connection and you leave your laptop at your place of accommodation, have your computer upload your files onto cloud storage while you are out to travel vlogging.
- Take advantage of Google Photos’ free, unlimited cloud storage for video files up to 1080p.
Video Editing
- If you’re editing a video project with videos from multiple different cameras, make sure to set the correct time and date on all of them before you start filming. Later, in editing, you can import all your image and video files and sort them in the exact order that they were taken.
- If your video editing software can work with proxies, transcode all your video files into proxy files for much faster editing.
Posting On YouTube
- Choose a title that people will search for. Keep your target keywords at the beginning of your title. “S01E01: My Summer Backpacking Trip” is not an effective title. Instead, a title like “Going Up The Eiffel Tower… Beautiful View of Paris!” would be better.
Ready to Become a Travel Vlogger?
Here in this article, I shared travel vlogging cameras &accessories, travel video ideas& resources, and travel vlogging tips. Did you get more hints to become a travel vlogger? Stay tuned and start your own travel vlog! Leave your comments below if you have any suggestions about this travel vlogger guide.
This past year has been a challenge, so if you want to make a #travelanywhere video without traveling, you can try Wondershare Filmora X video editor.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
- Title: Maximize Engagement with These 9 YouTube Thumbnail Creators for 2024
- Author: Thomas
- Created at : 2024-05-31 12:47:44
- Updated at : 2024-06-01 12:47:44
- Link: https://youtube-help.techidaily.com/maximize-engagement-with-these-9-youtube-thumbnail-creators-for-2024/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
